by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online

Those wondering how Apple would follow its attention-grabbing announcement that it would launch its new iPhone cellphone later this year had their curiosity satisfied last night during the 79th annual Academy Awards.

Hello, the 30-second iPhone ad, which aired during the U.S. Oscars broadcast, features a montage of actors including John Cusack, Marilyn Monroe, Samuel L. Jackson and Cameron Diaz and cartoon characters Betty Rubble and Mr. Incredible saying hello on the phone. It ends with an image of the iPhone, the word "Hello" and the teaser line "Coming in June."

Blogger Jason Kottke points to fellow blogger Rick Silva's observations that the ad resembles the 1995 experimental film Telephones by artist Christian Marclay and 1991's Home Stories by Matthias Mueller.

Mr. Incredible is, of course, the lead character in the 2004 animated film The Incredibles by Pixar Animation Studios, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs co-founded and that merged with the Walt Disney Company in 2006.

Any bets that the next Incredibles film features Mr. Incredible using an iPhone?

Like many videos these days, if you can't watch the official iPhone ad on Apple's site because you don't have Quicktime, it's also available on YouTube.

Too bad they didn't get to what people really want to know: When will Apple unlock its music?